The Service Lifecycle Management (SLM) Approach: Strong Customer Relationships Result In Profit In The Service Industry overviews an approach to improve the profitability of services businesses by concurrently increasing service and lowering costs. Please enjoy the free Executive Summary below, or click the report title above to download the full PDF (free of charge, no registration required).
Table of Contents
- Executive Overview
- Improving Profitability in the Product Aftermarket
- Never Ignore a Call for Help
- Reduce Waste in the Call Center
- Avoid the Service Call (or at least Reduce the Urgency)
- Make the Right Calls First
- Close the Call the First Time
- Keep Technicians Productive, not Just Busy
- Turn the Service Call into an Opportunity
- Turn Service into Cash – Rapidly
- Stop Revenue Leaks
- Enhance the Customer Relationship
- Grow Revenue by Restarting the Service Lifecycle
- Turn to Proactive Management
- Driving SLM Changes into the Business
- Services Can’t Remain a Stepchild
- Make the Move to SLM – Change the Business Processes
- Enable the Change with Technology
- Get the Right Software
- Get the Right Partner
- Summary and Additional Information
- Summary
- About the Author
Executive Overview
Customers get invoices for service that should be covered under warranty. Out of warranty work is not billed. Sales opportunities for supplies, additional products and services are not being recognized. Upgrade and replacement opportunities are not offered to the right customers. Service contracts lapse without renewal notices or attempts to upgrade. Costs are high because of unnecessary paperwork, duplication of efforts and poor service call scheduling. Customers’ service level expectations are not being met. Is this any way to service customers that rely on you to keep their mission-critical equipment in top performance? More importantly, is this any way to service customers and run a profitable business?
Profitability in the services business comes from developing and maintaining long-term customer relationships. Unfortunately for many companies, providing service to customers is an afterthought and hasn’t gotten the attention that it deserves. As manufacturers, distributors and resellers are discovering, there are hidden opportunities for greater revenue and market share available by focusing more attention on the aftermarket. Leading companies are beginning to view service operations as a strategic opportunity and focusing on improving their processes to serve their customers. This strategic approach to service, known as Service Lifecycle Management (SLM), holds significant, untapped business improvement opportunities.
The bottom line results of an SLM Strategy are compelling – increased revenue, lower costs and improved customer satisfaction / retention. This white paper explores the potential results and the path to achieving them. The paper is divided into two major sections. The first section explores the value of a Service Lifecycle Management Initiative. It highlights tangible improvement opportunities for companies to address in their businesses to improve revenue, decrease costs, and increase customer satisfaction and retention while a product is being serviced for a customer. The second section will highlight processes and technology required to successfully make the necessary changes in the business.